By Foresee Foundation and Animal Defenders St. Maarten
Mohana Caesar is a silent force for the foundation. When the famous dog lover Elizabeth Reitz died in March 2014, she left a request for the community to help homeless dogs. Reitz was known to feed 86 dogs on her premises and then drive around with her truck to feed some 200 stray dogs on the Dutch side six days a week. After Animal Defenders St. Maarten (ADS) published Mrs. Reitz’s request, a group of about 18 people came to the initial meeting and some feeding groups for the strays were started.
A very pleasant volunteer with great qualities, Mohana Caesar was one of the first to join a feeding group. Mohana listens; she is a think-tank and she comes with great ideas and solutions. As she works for the public prosecutor, she also brought a lot of knowledge and experience with her to the benefit of the animals. In 2017, after Hurricane Irma hit St. Maarten, Mohana had to leave for Curaçao because she was pregnant. From there, she stayed in touch and kept monitoring us.
Mohana met some kind-hearted people from animal foundations in Curaçao and they started to collect for the animals on hard-hit St. Maarten. They were the first to send donations – the donated pet-food gifts had little heart-warming notes that brought tears to our eyes.
Boatloads of pet food and items arrived here thanks to nice animal lovers on our sister island Curaçao, thanks to Mohana and her connections. Mohana came back after a few months together with her partner Bas and her baby boy Liam. Mohana did not stop volunteering and was always there to help. Her love for animals is in her genes, it comes from both her parents and she is passing it on to her son, who is our youngest Animal Defender.
Mohana was supposed to become a board member and we were looking forward to having her on board, but then she put that on hold because she knew that at one point, she would be moving to Curaçao. Now the time has come and Mohana and her family will be leaving.
We, the volunteers, and all the animals will be missing this amazing woman – the silent force behind the foundation. We wish to thank her for all her energy, patience, loyalty, ideas, advice, friendship – and not to mention her monthly financial donations on top of it all. We love her so much and wish her and her family, including her pets, a bright future. We know that she will eventually pick up and do the same in Curaçao. No matter where she goes, nobody can stop her love for animals. Good luck and farewell, dushi, we will always stay in touch.
How did Mohana contribute to making your organization better?
We have a big team of feeding volunteers. They all have full-time jobs and families to take care of, but it is in Mohana’s nature to do more than that. She goes the extra mile, all for the love of animals.
Give some examples of activities or projects that Mohana has participated in to make your organization more effective.
Fundraising Doggie Bingo in 2015, Animal Awareness Day, Animal Care Day, Art for Animals, Clean up for the animals, SXM Doet, vaccination campaigns, adoption campaigns, trapping trips, darting wild dogs with dart teams, substituting for others, several other fundraising events, Christmas walks in town, pet food distributions and continuous spay/neuter campaign.
What are Mohana’s best qualities that help make your organization a success?
Staying calm, listening and problem-solving skills, and always ready to help, not only the animals, but all living beings.
Contact person for Animal Defenders St. Maarten:
Mercedes De Windt: Phone/WhatsApp: +1 721 553-3116; email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
